---
title: "Move recordings to an external drive"
description: "Connect an external drive and move meeting audio off your Mac."
updated: "2026-09-21"
canonical: https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/external-drive
---

# Move recordings to an external drive

Free space on your Mac by moving recording audio to a drive you connect. Your transcripts, summaries and meeting list stay in Recordstead.

:::caution[This moves audio, not your whole library]
An external recording destination is not a backup of your meetings. To preserve the library too, follow [Move your meetings to another Mac](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/move-to-another-mac).
:::

## Connect the drive

1. Connect the external drive to your Mac.
2. Open **Settings…** (⌘,) › **Storage** › **Recordings storage**. Click **Choose…**, or **Manage…** if you already have a destination.
3. In **Destinations**, choose **Add destination…** › **External volume…**.
4. Give it a name, click **Choose…** to select a folder on the drive, then click **Save**.
5. Select this destination to make it active for future moves.


## Move a recording

Right-click a meeting that still has local audio. Open **Recording** and choose the move command that names your drive.

Keep the drive connected until the transfer finishes. Recordstead checks the external copy before removing the local original.

**Your result:** the meeting stays in Recordstead and its audio lives on the drive. Keep the drive connected when you want to listen to it.

## If the transfer fails

Check that the drive is connected and has free space, then retry. A failed copy does not remove the local original. If the copy succeeded but local cleanup failed, Recordstead reports that separately; space is freed after cleanup succeeds.

## Related

- [Move recordings automatically](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/automatic-recording-moves)
- [Reconnect a drive or an archive](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/reconnect-recording-archive)
- [Set up S3 storage](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/s3-storage) or [an SFTP server](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/sftp-storage)